Sermon for September 25th (Raising a godly child)

I don’t know if you have noticed, but around here at Emmanuel some really great things have been happening.  And many of them revolve around the youth and families of our church.  So, while I originally had a plan about what to talk about this week for the message, I decided to change it and focus on this most important part of our church and our lives: our families.  Especially, I will focus this morning on what God says is important about raising children and what he encourages us to do about passing our faith along to them.  There are three ways he does this in particular: first, he calls us to faith in him alone, second, we are called to stay involved with our kids and, finally, we are called to never give up.    

                The passage that always come to my mind when talking about families and children and faith is from Deuteronomy 6.  It begins with what is called, in Hebrew, the Shema Yisrael, or translated into English, “Hear O Israel”.  It is the clearest, most poignant affirmation of Judaism and its understanding of monotheism, or the belief that there is only one God (a belief that is shared by Christians): “Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” 

                This means that, as a person of faith, you are to have one love because you have one God, and everything that is a part of your life, whether it regards your mind, your body, your passions or even your spirit ought to be directed toward loving this one Lord.  It’s like tunnel-vision you see.  Or, maybe a better illustration which be that this singular love of God is like looking through a particular lens onto the world.  Just like you put in your contacts, or put on your glasses, you put on your love of God.  And everything you look at from that point forward, whether it is your job, or your church or even your kids, has to be seen through that lens.

                After the Shema, we hear these words, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” 

                Does this seem like a lot to you?  Think about the things that excite you or think about the things in your life that are important to you.  If you could do anything with your time, what would you choose to do?  What do you believe is really important in your life?  Now, think about this, do you talk about these things with your children?  Do you teach them about these things?  I am going to guess that, yes, if something is important to you in your life then most of you probably want it to be important to your children as well.

                For example, in my house, my children learn early on about Nebraska Football.  Now, they don’t really understand the game, or know the players or know the history, but I don’t want to come home one day and have them cheering for the wrong team just because I didn’t encourage them properly when they were young.  Now, Nebraska Football isn’t that important to me, when all is said and done, but still, I’ve spent a great deal of time brainwashing my children into liking it.  There are some things that I also feel very strongly that they should not do.  So, when my children are little, I teach them not to eat yellow snow, or brown snow for that matter.  I care about their health and I don’t want them chowing down on a dog urine snow cone one day just because I never said anything.  You could no doubt name me many of your other values, or opinions, or ways of acting that you think are important.  A hard work ethic.  Honesty.  Respect of elders.  Being well rounded.  I bet that you train your children to appreciate these things as much as you do. 

                In Deuteronomy, God says that he expects that you treat Him with at least the same respect as you would treat the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones, or the Cornhuskers.  If you care about your child’s education and make sure they get on the bus to school every day, God says he expects you treat their Christian education with at least as much respect.  If you care about their dental hygiene enough to demand that they brush their teeth daily, do you also demand that they pray with you daily and ask forgiveness from God to clean their hearts and minds from any gunk they may have picked up?  If you seek to have your children love your parents, their grandparents, as much as you love them, God expects you to treat their relationship with Him with at least as much respect.  Because, as  a person of faith, you are to love the Lord your God above all these other things.  With all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.  If you love God that much, how could you NOT talk about Him with your kids, teach them about His love and bring them to His house?  The problem some parents have with teaching their children faith is that their own personal faith isn’t where it ought to be.  If that’s you, don’t be embarrassed, find a way to make God number one in your life and that focus will affect your children’s relationship with God as well. 

                In the book of Proverbs, there are many sayings focused on raising children, but the one that is most often referred to comes in chapter 22, “Start children off the way they should go, even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  And many families try to do this, I think—though I believe we’ve got it a little confused.  Maybe you bring your children to church on Sundays for Sunday school and like little hatchlings in a nest, kick them out into the church to fend for themselves saying, “I’m starting them off in the way they should go . . . hope they learn whatever they’re supposed to after they find their room.”  Do you think that this is what God intends?  Cause let me tell you, parenting a godly child is a lot more involved than that.

                Starting off a child in the right direction is important, but God also encourages parents to walk alongside their child and guide them along the path when they start veering off course.  Proverbs also says, “Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.”  I believe that the church and really most Christians try to start their children in the right way, but they forget that God calls them to stay involved through discipline.

                What do I mean by discipline?  Simply this, if your one year old, in all his newfound freedom, picks up some of that steaming brown snow are you going to watch him sit there and eat it or run over and stop him?  What if your child was a teenager, you know, a smart kid, and yet they still hadn’t seemed to figure this whole snow thing out yet?  Would you say, well, he’s old enough to make his own decisions now about what kind of snow he wants to eat!  Wouldn’t you be even more focused on getting her to learn the lesson?  Would you be a willing party to your child eating dog poop?                                   

I would like to argue that your child’s faith is even more important.  In fact, according to scripture, faith is a matter of life or death.  Eternal life or death at the very least.  But let’s be honest, how many here watching their children choose a path away from God?  And while we use excuses like, “They’ve got to decide for themselves” or “I don’t want to pressure them.”  My question is the one Proverbs put forward, “are you going to be a willing party to their death?”  You may not be able to change their mind, but, as a parent, isn’t it your calling to try and make a difference in their life for the sake of their eternal life with God?

                I believe that most of us listen to the news, or magazine articles more than to God when it comes to raising our children.  We want to be their friends, when God calls us to be their parents . . sometimes unpopular parents.  If a coach tells your child that they have a soccer game at 10:00 on Sunday morning, you make sure that your child is there—that’s discipline.  You are teaching a lesson about responsibility, teamwork and the value of athletics.  If you tell your kids that you’ll go to church if you wake up early enough after a late Saturday night you have also taught your children a lesson about faith, community and the value you’ve placed on God.  Discipline is necessary for parents to raise godly children.

                In Confirmation, Sunday School and GROW, the curriculum we use focuses on giving parents the tools to not just start their kids off right, but to walk alongside their child as they grow in faith.  Why?  Because God tells us that if we don’t, later on, we’ll be embarrassed, “an undisciplined child disgraces their mother.”  It’s our responsibility as parents to care enough about our children that we don’t willingly become a party to their death.  There may come a time when your child becomes an adult, when they will choose a path your never wanted for them.  Do you just say, “Oh well, that’s their choice.”?  Do you say, “Never step foot in my house again!”?  What do we learn from how God parents us?  We always keep our hearts open to forgive just like the father of the prodigal son and we share our faith without fear or shame knowing that faith comes through hearing the word of Christ and we are called to guide our children no matter how old they get.

                How do you raise godly children?  Believe me, I have 3 of my own and I want to know as much as you do.  First, love the Lord with everything that’s in you.  Building your own faith is extremely important if for no other reason than that you’ll look for guidance from God rather than Oprah reruns or CNN headlines.  Second, do not abandon them as they are learning their way.  Discipline they to know the different between right and wrong, faith and unbelief.  Finally, never give up.  The calling of a parent doesn’t depend on the age of the child.  Your kids need you as much now as when they were two according to God’s Word. 

                As a community, we are all called to these things as well.  According to the book, “The Family Friendly church” The church needs to be less concerned about building good churches and more interested in empowering parents to build good families.  We are all called to support the faith of families, to stay involved with the children we knew growing up and to never give up even when a child might choose a destructive path.  Great things are happening here and I believe God promises that they can be even better.  Following His guidance, as families and as a community, we can raise godly children.  Amen. 

Sermon for September 18th (God is Not Fair!)

Many of you have little children at home and many more of you used to have them at home so I expect that the vast majority of you will understand what I mean when I say that little children, especially around age 4 or 5 are very perceptive about what is fair and what isn’t.  When cookies are being handed out after dinner, EVERY child must get one or else it’s not fair.  If you discipline one child for hitting his or her sibling, you had better discipline the second when they hit back or else that’s not fair either.  If one child goes to the movies while another child goes to get some ice cream, both will believe their lives are unfair because each one is missing something the other got.  To a young child, life, in general, doesn’t seem fair.

                Christians often feel the same way.  We think that “God isn’t fair.”  What’s funny is, for once we are right on!  God is NOT FAIR.  God is NOT fair.  Have you ever noticed?  When we expect people to be punished, they are forgiven.  No matter how good we act, we don’t get any special treatment.  And that’s not fair.  It isn’t. 

Think about Jonah.  The story of Jonah goes something like this: God tells Jonah to say to the Ninevites that they must turn from their evil ways or else they are going to be destroyed.  The city of Ninevah is the capital of Assyria, one of israel’s most hated adversaries.  To a Jew at this time, Ninevah would have stood for all that was wrong with Gentile people—that is, non-Jews.  While the book of Jonah really doesn’t list any of Ninevah’s particular sins, the book of Nahum states that within Ninevah there was much evil done against God, cruelty and plundering in war, prostitution, witchcraft and exploitation.  God saw Ninevah’s wickedness and Jonah was told to tell them to stop. 

But, instead of following God’s command, Jonah runs away and gets on board a boat sailing off into the ocean.  When God sent a storm upon Jonah’s little ship, Jonah jumped out of the boat and God sent a fish to swallow him up.  Inside the fish, Jonah repents, finally obeys God, and goes to Ninevah to announce, “Forty more days and Ninevah will be overturned.”  He says this for one day, just one day, and BEHOLD!—The Ninevites heard and believed.  They declared a fast and everyone—everyone it says—repented.  And what happens next?  God forgives them.    

                That’s pretty unfair when you think about it.  I mean, do you remember the list of sins happening in Ninevah?  Cruelty and plundering in war—probably the raping and pillaging of innocent people is what we are talking about there.  Prostitution, withcraft and exploitation.  Ninevah was a bad place—a wicked place.  And then, they say they are sorry, and all is forgiven.  What!  What’s fair about that?  Nothing.

                This is the same problem that comes up in the gospel of Matthew in this parable of the vineyard, except now, it’s backwards.  In the story of Jonah, the bad people don’t get punished the way they should.  But in Jesus’ parable, the good people don’t get the special treatment they deserve either.  They just get the same pay as everyone else does even though they did like eight times the work!  Not fair!  Not fair!  God is NOT fair. 

                Have you ever looked around your church and seen someone who really didn’t  deserve to be here?   Because of their past actions.  Because of their background.  Do you know anyone like that?  Is it fair that we allow that person into this church?

                Since we’ve started GROW on Wednesday nights for kids, some of you have had the pleasure of filling out one of these forms: a background check.  And some of you may have had a difficult time deciding whether to fill it out or not.  What’s going to come up?  What’s Pastor Broers going to find out about me?  Some of you, may have just decided not to be a volunteer because you don’t want to risk being exposed.  Maybe I should just sit in my pew like a good little boy or girl and pretend that I am a good little boy and girl and like I always have been a good little boy or girl.  What have YOU done that would show up on a background check or are you in the clear. . . did you just not get caught?

                This church is full of people with backgrounds.  People with histories.  When you come before Jesus Christ you each must fill out a background check and I don’t mean the ones we’ve been handing out.  No, this one goes much deeper.  When I was an intern in Harvey, North Dakota, a pastor up there told me how many women from upstanding Christian homes were being beaten by their husbands—or had been abused in the past—but since these women would never press charges, their husbands never had to admit what they had done.  In other words, if that were you, you’d pass my background check—congratulations—but you wouldn’t pass God’s, would you?  No, you wouldn’t.  And yet how many men smugly believe they are pulling over the wool on everyone’s eyes.  When the eyes of God see exactly what is happening.   

And all you nice ladies out there . . . on your background check, how many of you would have been indicted for slander and libel in God’s court of law when you talk or gossip about your enemies or friends?  And if your husband, or for that matter fellas, if your wives knew the thoughts going through your head—or the pictures flashing across your internet screen, or the magazines hidden away somewhere—would you be labeled a prostitute according to God’s background check?  You and I cannot pass a background check with God.  We are killers, adulterers, thieves, liars, prostitutes, and abusers.  It is not fair that we are allowed into this sanctuary!

                But that’s why I kinda like these background checks.  Because there is no hiding it anymore.  You see, the Devil loves to make us hide in the dark.  To shame us into being secretive about our sins.  To make us feel unworthy and like if anyone found out, we’d be destroyed.  The Devil makes you think that even your pastor, as nice of a guy as he is, might look at you differently if he knew the truth about you.  The Devil makes you believe that if you step into the light, even God might not forgive you completely.

                But don’t believe the Devil’s lies!  God is not fair!  As long as you hide in the dark and lie about who you are and lie about what you’ve done and keep it all a secret from everyone around you God will not have mercy on you.  He will not forgive someone who has no sin.  He will not forgive someone who does not repent.  There are some of you here, today, who still haven’t completed a full background check before God.  You have justified your sins for so long that you don’t even really believe you did anything wrong anymore.  You are so ashamed of what you have done, you won’t tell a soul believing that the only thing that is keeping you safe is your secret when that—THAT secret is actually what is KILLING you!  Walk into the light.  Tell someone.  Be exposed for what you are and who you are and what you have done.  Only then will you find freedom in Christ. 

                Because God is not fair!  Jonah knew it.  When the Ninevites repented and God relented Jonah got mad!  He said, “Isn’t that what I said when happen!  I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love.”  I knew you’d forgive them and that’s not fair!  Jesus’ disciples knew it too.  He told the Pharisees that the sinners and prostitutes were first in line to go to heaven.  Don’t be so self-righteous that you miss out on God’s grace!  Jesus makes it clear: it’s better to be a sinner and a prostitute than a self-righteous Pharisee.  Because until you fill out that background check.  Until you admit that you are who you are before God, you will not find a gracious God.  Until you admit the truth before others, you will not find an accepting community.  But when you come into the light, and expose what you have done, God is never fair. Thank God!  He forgives you.  He washes you clean.  He shreds that background check once and for all.  He gives you the strength to turn away from the evil you’ve done and he opens the door wide and says, “I have seen what you have done.  And I’ve heard you admit it with your own mouth.  I was looking for someone just like you.  Someone with a background.  Someone who needed a Savior.  Someone who didn’t deserve it.  I forgive you.  I love you.”  God is not fair.  Thank God, God is not fair.  Amen. 

               

Sermon for September 11th (Remember)

Today is the 10^th anniversary of the September 11^th attacks . . . what do you remember?  Where were you?  I remember.  I had just finished taking some entrance exams for my Masters degree in Cincinnati when I saw a couple of people watching a TV.  There were crowds on the screen and it looked like they were in New York. 

                I remember coming home and turning on the news.  The next thing I remember was two weeks later when I turned it off.  I remember crying.  I remember being scared to death.  I remember being angry.  I remember just sitting with Kristy and hugging and talking in shocked voices about how the world just seemed so weird now.  I remember going to church and talking to people from New York who had friends who had died.  I remember seeing the pictures again and again.  The smoke, the planes, the body counts, the president addressing the nation.  I remember the feelings.

                We still remember.  10 years later we are still remembering.  It’s so awful that we can’t forget.  When you witness a tragedy, the moment is imprinted on your brain just from the shock.  But there is something worse about witnessing evil.  It would have been one thing if a plane had lost control and hit a tower.  It would have been a tragedy that we would have remembered distantly in the past.  Like the bridge on 1-35 in Minnesota collapsing or the Tsunami in Japan or where a child dies in an accident.  But the memory of September 11^th is different, isn’t it?  Because it was more than a tragedy—it was a tragedy caused by sin, by evil, by the wicked desires of a few to deliberately kill many.  I remember thinking that the worst part of it all was that, on this day that I was sobbing and glued to my television, somewhere in the world a crowd of terrorists was cheering and glad.  I remember feeling sick to think about that.

                If you remember how you felt on September 11^th, 10 years ago, then you have a glimpse of how God has felt every day since Adam and Eve fell into temptation and allowed sin to enter the world.  God sees murders, adultery, disobedience, gossip, drunkenness, lying and idolatry every moment of every day.  And how often are these sins accomplished in us and we are cheering.  At a party, in a secret bedroom, over the phone or, at the very least, in our hearts.  How often does God remember seeing you or I sinning against each another and laughing about it.  Feeling like we have gotten away with something and feeling smug.  Making excuses for why we were justified in our favorite sin.  You know what, I don’t think that it is a surprise that God remembers.   How could he forget seeing people hurt one another with a smile on their face?  I remember September 11^th and I know that I can’t forget it.

                So that is why I admit that I do not understand God.  He is a mystery to me.  I can’t fathom his actions or his mind.  His ways are so much different than my own.  God surprises me.  Do you know why?  Listen to what he says in today’s reading from Jeremiah 31:31-34 . . . For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  How can that be true?  Is he just saying that to good people?  To goody-goody Christians?  No.  He says it again in Isaiah 43, “You have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.  I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” The book of Romans says that “While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.” 

                Can you imagine a day when you didn’t remember September 11^th?  If you didn’t remember, you couldn’t be angry anymore.  You would forgive those who murdered husbands and mothers and children and sisters because you couldn’t remember what they had done.  Can you imagine what it would mean to never remember those sins again?

                But now, here, we come to a dilemma.  Because, today, on the 10^th anniversary of September 11^th, we remember those who died and can relate to them.  We felt victimized on that day too.  But, when God enters the picture, we realize that we cannot relate to just the victims anymore.  In God’s world, we are the terrorists.  As I said before, we are the ones who hurt others with smiles on our faces.  And, no, people haven’t just gotten worse.  In the sixth chapter of Genesis, we’re talking 4000 years ago, we read, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”  The problem is that people haven’t changed.  Even when God sent his only Son Jesus to give us life abundantly, to heal our diseases, to forgive our sins, we nailed him to a cross—the blameless, innocent lamb of God.

                To other men, both criminals, were also led out with Jesus to be executed the gospel of Luke explains.  One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:  'Aren’t you the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!”  Do you remember ever doing that?  Getting angry at God who allowing the September 11^th attacks to happen in the first place?  But the other criminal rebuked him, “Don’t you fear God, “ he said, “Since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this  man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And here we thought it was the fact that God DIDN’T remember that was his greatest gift to us. 

                The book of Galatians says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”  The first letter of Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”  He nailed our condemnation to the cross.  The fact is, while it seems, at first glance, that God’s mercy lies in his forgetfulness—or in his not remembering our sins; I believe that we will only find God’s mercy when he remembers every single one of them so he can die for them all.  I don’t want him to forget a single one of my sins.  The hidden ones, the obvious ones, the wicked ones, the little mistakes and faults—because if he forgets to die for a single one I am lost forever.  He must remember every single one of your sins, so that he can die in your place and then, only then, will God be able to forget them completely. 

                This is why, in the book of Colossians, we read this great news in chapter 3 verse 3, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”  The penalty for sin is death.  There is no hiding from this truth.  You terrorize this world and those around you with your sins and God must painfully watch you do it again and again with a smile on your faith, with self-justification, with blissful ignorance.  He must remember each one so that he remembers why his Son, Jesus had to die.  But then, as he stares at the cross, he remembers his promise, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  God remembers so that he might stop remembering.

                “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  It’s hard, on a day like today, to not remember . . . so stop trying.  Remember.  Remember the pain, the anger, the fear and the sadness.  Because the September 11^th attacks can never be forgotten.  Instead, we pray for God’s spirit to enter our hearts and minds and do something in us that we cannot do on our own.  We pray that God gives us the ability to remember and then to forgive.  To have the heart of God who says, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  We must remember in order to stop remembering.  To put our minds on things above: love, forgiveness and joy rather than on the anger, sadness and revenge so uplifted in this world.

                When you come to Jesus Christ and acknowledge him as your Lord and your Savior you realize that we are all alike on this earth.  The same wickedness is in all of us.  And when you realize that your sins have been remembered and forgotten, there is a chance, that you might find that same freedom here on earth in your relationships with others.  I remember wondering that day 10 years ago, were the people who died ready?  The attacks of September 11^th were such a surprise.  Did they have faith in Jesus?  They had plans just like we do today.  They had important things to do just like us.  At the end, no matter when that end comes, we will all be in the same predicament.  Crying out just like that thief on the cross: “Jesus, though I do not deserve you, please, remember me when you come into your kingdom.  Remember my faults, remember my inadequacies and remember my sins.  Remember me.  ”  And when a sinner cries out in faith, God remembers all that he created you to be and he remembers to forget everything that pulled you apart from him.  Remember.  When you cry out to Jesus, you can count on Him answering.   “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Amen. 

Sermon for September 4th (Blessings in Disguise)

We pray for blessings.  We pray for peace.  Comfort for family, protection while we sleep.  We pray for healing, for prosperity.  We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.  All the while, You hear each spoken need.  Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops.  What if Your healing comes through tears.  What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near.  What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise.

In Pakistan last year when a radical Muslim mob of about 3000 came to burn the Christian village of Korian, the Christian families ran for their lives.  But 86-year-old Baba Qadar could not run.  He could not even walk.  The mob found him lying on his bed outside his house.  He told us, “My family wanted to take me but I could not run.  I forced them to run for safety.  I told them, ‘Go!  I will remain here.’  About 20 or 30 of the attackers surrounded my bed.  One of them shouted at me, ‘You are old, so it is better that you accept the true religion.  We will not beat you if you say the Kalma (the Muslim confession of faith).’  I said, ‘No, no, I will not say this.  Burn me or kill me or do whatever you like.  I have said my Kalma and that is Jesus Christ.’  Then they beat me with their weapons—pistols, Kalashnikovs and big sticks.  They kicked me.

The prophet Jeremiah was a predecessor to Baba Qadar.  God called on Jeremiah to speak out to those who persecuted him as well.  In today’s first reading, we hear the prophet crying out to God, “Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?  You are to me like deceptive brook, like a spring that fails.  Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “You will be my spokesman.  I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save, “ declares the Lord.  “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.”  Jeremiah went through many trials, but God delivered him from every one of them.  Imagine the relationship this prophet must have had with God.  Do you have a relationship like that with your Savior?  The trials of this prophet led him to rely on God, but we so often believe that our trials and tribulations are actually what pull us away from God.

Don’t you think that Baba’s family, running away to safety, were praying for their beloved grandfather to be protected?  For his suffering to end?  And how would they have felt if they saw God allowing their grandfather to be beaten and kicked?  Would they have doubted God’s goodness?  His love?  Would they have been angry?  Wouldn’t you have been?  Aren’t you when God allows cancer to enter our bodies?  Or disasters to strike our farms?  Or hearts to be broken?  Or dreams to be shattered?

Baba’s story continues, “Lying on the ground I looked up at them and said, ‘How can you kill me?  The Master of Life is only one and this is Jesus Christ.  Only he can give or take life, so do whatever you like because I knkow that it is God alone who can take my life.’”  A group of men picked Baba up off his bed and hurled him into a thorn bush about 20 feet away.  One of them promised him, “If you say the Kalma and accept the Muslim faith, we will take you off this bush.”  As some of them turned to walk away, they heard a voice from the thorn bush:  ‘Kill me.  Burn me.  I will not say the oath.”  Imagine if God had saved him from being thrown into that thorn bush?  Would Baba have still had the strength to speak out to his oppressors?

A reading from 2 Corinthians 12, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in wekness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

Baba, the mostly blind, 86 year old lame man found his strength lying in a thorn bush.  I doubt if he ever felt more strong than at that very moment in his life.  I don’t know what Baba’s life was like before this day.  According to the article, he could not read.  We know that he could no longer walk.  What his life amounted to up to this time, I can’t say with any certainty.  He probably doubted his faith at times like you and I do.  He probably questioned biblical passages and wondered how anyone could be expected to live up to the high expectations that Jesus presents to his disciples.  He no doubt fell into temptation and was ashamed of himself at times throughout his life.  This may have been the single most faithful act he ever witnessed in himself and it came on the worst night of his life.  What if trials of this life are God’s mercies in disguise. 

As your pastor, I know that some of you are going through the worst times of your life right now.  And many of those trials may SEEM to come because you are trying to stand firmly to your faith.  Several of you, may be in marriages that are only hanging on a thread and it would be easier for all of you to just leave and be done with it, except that God considers you and your spouse to be one flesh.  And so you suffer every day with no end in sight.  But, what if the healing of your heart, your faith and your marriage comes through this time of trial?

You may be struggling with money moreso now than ever before.  And it would be easier to steal from your workplace or steal your church tithe back into your bank account to give you a little breathing room.  Maybe you can never do the things you want because you never have enough money!  And you hate it!  And your family hates it!  But, what if, the achings of this life—the desire for a better car, a bigger house, a larger retirement fund—is the revealing of a greater thirst this world and all the money in it cannot satisfy?  Maybe God desires you to care more about your relationship to Him than your security on this earth?

You may be dying, literally dying, of cancer or you may know someone who is . . . don’t we all?  And it would be nice if God would just take that tumor away in a miraculous healing so that you could praise his name and finally get some reward for being a devoted Christian your entire life!  It’s embarrassing isn’t it, to be a Christian who believes in the power of prayer and the power of healing and to not have it happen EVERY SINGLE TIME!  Why would God allow this to happen to you or your loved one when there is so much more on this earth to be done? 

Well, as the song puts it.  “When friends betray us.  When darkness seems to win.  We know the pain reminds this heart that this is not, this is not our home.”  Or, as Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”  This world, the very breaths we take are not the goal.  Sometimes the trials of this life reminds us that this life, as wonderful as it is, is not the best thing there is.  Because of Jesus Christ, there is more than this life for you.  When you place your trust in Jesus Christ, in his life, death and resurrection for you, these trials, those achings, the darkness of this world will come to an end for you.  God promises you eternal life away from suffering and pain—to be spent in his presence for all the rest of time. 

God loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.  He cares more about your faith than your bank account or how much sleep you get or whether you feel hunky dory all the time.  And if the trials and storms of this life lead you to seek refuge and safety in him—if that is what it must take—then how could he not allow them to occur!  How could he not love you enough to risk your pain, your doubt or even your anger if it meant eternal life with you in the end. 

In the book of Acts, after jail time, shipwrecks and almost being killed multiple times by mobs, Saint Paul says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  Baba, the man from the article, tells that his favorite Bible passage is Matthew:28-31.  He does not fear those who can kill the body, because they cannot kill the soul.  He knows that whatever happens he is secure.

What say you?  What will you say?  When you are called to confess your face before an angry mob or just in front of a friend at work?  When you must decide to either give into temptation and enjoy the experience of the moment or struggle against the Devil and follow what you know is right—what will you do?  Where will you go when the storms of this life smash you against the rocks?  Will you lose faith in the face of these trials or will you see them in a new way starting today?  Not as God’s punishments.  Not as God’s carelessness.  Not even as God’s mysteries.  Instead, maybe the trials of this life are God’s mercies.  They were for Jeremiah, they caused him to put his trust in God.  They were for Saint Paul, he saw in them the promise of God’s power and strength.  They even were for Baba Qadar, who boldly spoke of his faith in the face of persecution.  What if the trials in your life are God’s mercies in disguise?  Amen.       

Sermon for August 28th (Demetrius the Silversmith)

I once heard a story about a council member at a Lutheran church who was caught embezzling money from his company.  When he was asked how he could on the one hand be a strong leader of his church while at the same time doing something so very obviously unchristian at his job, his response was, “I guess I just never connected Sunday to Monday.”  That line has gone on to be the title of books, ministry programs and many a video series. 

                Would you ever do something like that?  I mean, as a Christian, could you imagine compromising your faith to such an extent that you would steal from the company you worked for?  To stand up here in church and confess that you believe in things like the ten commandments and then go right out and break one at work for weeks on end?  I mean, we all know that some of those commandments written in the Bible are kinda confusing or ambiguous maybe, but stealing isn’t one of them, right?  Well, I believe that many Christians don’t connect Sunday to Monday.  You might be one of them.  It’s easier than you think. 

                There are many people in the world today who talk about the benefits of being a Christian.  Even in our church, we spend a lot of time talking about how much better off you’ll be as a Christian.  You’ll have peace in times of trouble, we pray for healing of your sicknesses and diseases, God promises that when you seek God’s kingdom first all your needs will be met as well.  But sometimes being a Christian doesn’t make your life better; in fact, at least as the world looks at things, sometimes it can even make your life worse to those around you.

                On the ABC evening news on August 16^th, there was a story entitled, “Why nice guys finish last.”  In a study of people in the workplace, men who said that they were agreeable or “nice” at work earned about $10,000 less than men who said that they weren’t agreeable.  Women who said they were agreeable earned about $2000 less than women who said they weren’t agreeable.  Now this was a self-reported study and, obviously, how we view ourselves might be different than how others view us, but the point being made is that if you act nicely, you may be earning less because of it.  The study’s authors were worried that, with this bad economy, people might change their attitudes because of this study and be, you know, not as “nice” to earn more money.  Jesus Christ calls us to, “Love our neighbors as ourselves.”  To, “turn the other cheek” and to “clothe yourselves with compassion”.  But if it means you earn $10,000 less a year . . . is it really worth it? 

                Or what about this example, maybe hitting a little closer to home.  God commands us, in the third commandment, to “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.”  Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, argued that this wasn’t so much about the particular day, but about how we respect God’s Word, “We are to fear and love God so that we do not neglect God’s Word or the preaching of it but  regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.”  In other words, you are not supposed to come to church because it’s Sunday—you come to church because you respect God’s Word and don’t want to neglect your opportunity to hear that  Word spoken and preached about.  If that happens on Mondays, you should  go on Mondays.  If it happens on Sundays, which is the case at Emmanuel (as well as Saturday nights by the way), then you should go on the weekend.  It’s not about the day, but what is happening that you don’t want to miss. 

                However, what happens when the corn is ready to be harvested around here?  Or, what if it’s a nice day and the fields are ready to be plowed?  What if we have to make hay while the sun shines?  Or what if it’s a rainy day and you want to make sure that the combine is ready just in case you have a nice day on Monday so you can get out in the fields early?  What if coming in on Sunday means that you’ll miss out on getting your crops in on time or getting the whole harvest in sooner than your neighbor down the road?  How much money might that equate to?  You’d know better than I.  My point is that following God’s commandments doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll earn more money; in fact, it might make you earn less.  I’ve heard farmers say that, when they were younger, nobody worked in the fields on Sunday; but now, if you don’t go out, you are seen as a slacker.  Did God’s word change?  No, but something did.  Would your finances suffer if you didn’t make it out into the fields on Sunday mornings?  And, here’s the kicker, even if they did, would God continue to provide enough for you?

                In two of the stories today, the one from Daniel and the one from Acts, Christians are being persecuted because their faith is affecting the world, political leadership or the economy.  In the story from Acts, Demetrius, the silversmith, wouldn’t have been angry with Paul’s gospel message except that it was hurting business.  No need for all those silver shrines for Artemis if Artemis is just a figment of your imagination!  I was just reading an article in the Omaha World Herald this last week about how people have paid off more of their debt in the past few years and that, while that was good for them, it was hurting the economy since they weren’t spending their money on consumer goods.  God said in Proverbs, “The borrower is slave to the lender.”  God wants us to pay off of debts and stay out of it altogether.  But, since the economy is suffering, the government wants us to keep spending.  So, what are you going to do?  I remember, when we lived out in Cincinnati Ohio, there was a big fight over pornography in stores.  Some people felt that it was wrong to sell pornographic magazines and paraphernalia in gas stations, but the gas stations argued that it would hurt their business to get rid of them.  These issues are still alive and well folks.

In the story from Daniel, Daniel was going to be set in charge of the entire kingdom, but the other administrations around him lied to the King in order to get him thrown into a lion’s den!  Now, we can say that those other administrators were just jealous of Daniel and wanted more power and that’s why they wanted him out but, maybe, if it’s anything like today, maybe they also knew that Daniel, because he was a faithful follower of God, would bring a particular philosophy of management to the job that they didn’t agree with.  Would Daniel have been a Democrat?  Libertarian?  Tea Party Member?  Republican?  I don’t know.  But isn’t it possible that these administrators thought their way of handling things would have been better than his?  Maybe that’s why they didn’t want him to be the new leader.  The text says that he wasn’t corrupt, that he was trustworthy and that he wasn’t negligent; the only problems they would be able to find were with his following of God’s law. 

                If you followed God’s laws in your workplace, would you find people upset with you?  Would it also affect how you made decisions or prioritized activities?  Kristy and I just watched a movie, “Dinner with the Schmucks”.  In that movie, a businessman is seeking to get a promotion to make more money and impress his girlfriend.  Through his assertiveness, he gets the promotion except that he needs to find someone—someone really goofy and eccentric—to come to a dinner to be made fun of by everyone else. . . not exactly the Christian thing to do nor even a nice thing to do as his girlfriend explains to him.  This man maintains to his girlfriend that while he is a good person at home, at work, he has to make a lot of decisions that she wouldn’t like.  He can’t always be a nice person.  But, like it or not, he HAD to act this way to keep their livelihood intact.  Would you make the same decision? 

                “I’m sorry.  I can’t work on Sunday morning because I need to go to church.”  “No, I can’t perform that abortion, even if that means you must fire me.”  “I know that it would be cheaper if we lived together, but we aren’t married yet.”  “I have confirmation Wednesday nights, so I’ll have to leave practice early.”  “I won’t lie on my resume even to get a better job.”  “Money may be tight at home, but I’m still going to tithe to the church.”  “I messed up big time at work, but I’m not going to lie—I’ll admit my mistake.”  “I don’t want to listen to you gossip about people, even if we are friends.”  “I’ll skip the trip to the strip club with the new client because it’s degrading to both me and the women.” 

Does your faith in Jesus affect your life at work?  If your faith DOESN’T affect your work, what does that mean?  Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  (Luke 9:25-26)

                In the gospel text today, Jesus said that he had given God’s word to his followers and the world has hated them for it.  He said that his word was truth and that this truth would sanctify them.  Do you know what the word “sanctify” means?  It means, “set apart”.  Following God’s Word, being obedient to the commandments, being faithful to Jesus, will set you apart from those who do not believe in this world.  If being a Christian hasn’t ever made you feel different or set you apart from others what might that mean?

                Being a Christian means more than simply coming to church on Sundays and making an appearance.  It means more than getting confirmed and being a member.  Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers.’  There is an old saying I heard that goes something like this, “Would you have to tell people you are a Christian, or would they know it by your life?”       

Why do we believe that we are only Christians on Sundays at church?  Do you think that you work where you work on accident?  Or maybe, just maybe, do you have your job, your house and your circle of friends for a reason?  God created you with particular skills, dreams, personality types and gave you particular opportunities . . . do you really think he didn’t place you where you are for a reason?  Some of you might say, “Well, we can’t all be like you pastor . . . we don’t work at church.”  Exactly!  One of my biggest frustrations is that no matter how hard I try, most of my friends are already Christian!  I have to spend a lot of my time in the place non-Christians hardly ever hang out—a church!  You.  You all are the ones with the missionary opportunities!  Every day people watch you and listen to you trying to get a sense for what a Christian is . . . what are they seeing and hearing and believing? 

Being a Christian isn’t a cake walk folks.  That’s why Jesus said it involved taking up your cross and following him.  It’s going to be Monday morning again tomorrow.  Today, I pray that you take the time to prepare yourself.  You’ve heard God’s Word.  We’ll sing a few more songs and then you’ll go home.  If you’re afraid for what living as a Christian will mean for your life, your family and your job, how it might make you feel different around other people or be made fun of well good!  You’re sensing what it means to be sanctified—set apart for God’s purposes.  Tomorrow might be the beginning of a new chapter in your life, in this community, in the world—even in this economy.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ today, what are you going to be tomorrow?  Starting this week, I pray that you connect Sunday to Monday.  Amen. 

Sermon for August 21st (Aereopagus)

We pick up today in the book of Acts chapter 17 where Paul is waiting in Athens for a couple of friends of his, Timothy and Silas.  Even in Paul’s time, five centuries past it’s heyday, Athens was still the center of Greek philosophy.  It was a city full of history, with buildings like the Parthenon that still draw tons and tons of tourists in our day and age.  Athens was the city that so famously fought (and lost) to the city of Sparta in the Pelloponnesian war—a war made so famous through such figures as Helen of Troy and Archilles.

In the text today, Paul is said to have “reasoned” or discussed what he was seeing in Athens with both Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue.  The text says that he was greatly distressed by the idols he saw throughout Athens.  Why was that such a big deal?  Well, idols have always been a problem for God’s people.  Instead of worshipping God they would worship these idols such as the infamous “Golden Calf” or Asherah poles or the Baals.  Whenever names like that come up, God is never happy about them.    

In the version of the ten commandments written in Exodus 20, the first two commandments are closely connected.  First, “I am the Lord your God.  You shall have no other gods before me.”  And to make this even more clear we read the second commandment, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them.”  In other words, God forbids worshipping idols and, yet, throughout Athens there are idols everywhere.  Paul understood that this was a dangerous situation for any follower of God, whether they be Jewish or Christian.  He starts discussing this danger in the synagogue.

What is an idol?  According to the second commandment from Exodus, it seems to be something material that is worshipped as a god.  And what is a “god”?  According to Martin Luther in his Large Catechism, “a god is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need.  To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in that one with your whole heart.”  So, an idol is a material something that is trusted in; something that serves as a refuge in times of crisis.  It is something that we look to for strength or for happiness when times are difficult.  The city of Athens was full of idols, the text says—made of gold, silver and stone.  What would Paul say about our city?  Or, for that matter, what would Paul say about our homes?  Do we still have idols?

I took a sociology class in college, one of those classes that I had to take because I went to a liberal arts college.  In that class, I remember the teacher explaining that one of the ways archeologists determine what was important to people from long ago was to look at their homes and see what things were featured prominently.  For instance, if all the chairs are turned in a particular direction, often there will be a shrine or altar in the corner that they are facing.  In a group of pictures on the wall, the most important will often be on the top.  I’d like you to think about your living room.  What is the most prominent feature?  In many living rooms, it’s the TV—all the couches and chairs are turned to look at it.  It’s like a little shrine.  When we are sad, we trust that there will be something on the TV to cheer us up.  When we are scared during a huge storm, we turn on the weather channel to be warned or comforted.  We are guided in many of our decisions due to the programming we watch, whether it’s the kind of cereal we ought to buy or for whom we ought to vote.

We live in a world full of idols whether they be as small as i-pods or as big as tractors—in fact, I can’t imagine that Athens had any more idols than we do today.  As followers of God, we must constantly be aware of how the material things in our world seek to pull away our allegiance from the one true God.  Some worship money, others worship blogs, some worship their cornfields, others worship shoes or their cars, or facebook, or cookies or even basketball.  The first point Paul makes in Athens  is to challenge God’s people to put their complete trust in God rather than in all the things that seek to draw their attention away. 

But Paul doesn’t just speak in the synagogue, to the so called “religious” people in town, soon after, he begins to debate with two groups of unbelievers: philosophers known as the Epicureans and the Stoics.  The epicureans believed that one found happiness by having a good time—through sensual pleasures.  “Eat, drink and be merry!” might be their motto.  On the other hand, the Stoics, would have argued that happiness is found, not is seeking pleasure, but in curbing one’s appetite for pleasure.  According to this philosophy, happiness is found only through self-sufficiency or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson would say, “Rugged Individualism”.

In the synagogue, Paul had to deal with believers who struggled with idols surrounding them.  Here, Paul is dealing with unbelievers, but the idols are just as real, it’s just that, rather than being material, they are philosophies which, in some ways, are harder to contain.  What do I mean?  Well, these two philosophies are still prevalent in today’s society and they steal a person’s faith just as easily as any material idol ever could.  In the book, “The Prodigal God”, Tim Keller talks about the story of the Prodigal Son as really being about two sons, both of whom have a broken relationship with their father.

The first son, the most famous of the two, is rather epicurean in his actions.  He offends his father by asking for his inheritance, pretty much saying, “I’d rather you were dead” and then goes off and spends it on food and sex.  The second son, is much more stoic.  He offends his father by refusing to join in the party when his brother returns, arguing that he’s worked hard and never received any reward—not even a young goat to serve up at a party with his friends. 

In society today, both within and outside of the church, these two ways of thinking separate us from God.  They may not be material idols—but we idolize these philosophies.  Some people believe that Christianity is too strict, too many rules, too many expectations, and so they believe they will find happiness in a life of boundaryless pleasure and experimentation.  Other’s believe that Christianity is actually not strict enough, too tolerant, too forgiving, too focused on faith and not on action.  The one group has a broken relationship with God because they refuse to obey him.  The other group has a broken relationship with God because they try to earn their salvation through hard work and keeping the law.  Both lawlessness as well as pride can become idols.  Some of you here struggle with finding any good reason to follow God’s laws in your life because you figure—“God wants me to be happy right?”  Others here struggle to find any good reason to be merciful or forgiving to those who aren’t just like them.

Acts 17:31.  In America, we act just like the Athenians.  We say that we are tolerant of everything.  We have freedom of religion after all.  We are willing to listen to anyone.  We’re all worried that we’re missing something.  We are always ready to read the latest new age book telling us about the “unknown god” that we never knew before, or to get on the “unknown diet” that will fix our health, or how to meet that “unknown man or woman” that will change our lives forever.  But tolerance of many ideas doesn’t necessarily mean freedom—sometimes it just means that the truth is harder to hear over all the noise.  True freedom is only found in Jesus Christ. 

Just like the Athenians, we are all very religious.  We worship many things, whether they are material possessions or even our own ideas.  We worship our favorite teams or our favorite political opinions, we worship our bodies or even our sense of pride.  And the really sad thing is that we think we can do this AND continue worshipping God.  God says, “No!”  “I am a jealous God.  You either love me completely or you are loving something else.  You either trust me completely or you are giving your trust to someone else.”  God isn’t demanding that you get rid of your TV’s or stop eating cookies or listen to Christian radio all day or any of that—he simply desires to be first in your heart and first in your life—is he?   

We all have idols.  The next question is, what should we do about that?  Admitting that you have a problem is that first step and sometimes that’s all it takes to make a change.  Who’s in charge?  You or that TV?  Sometimes just noticing the silliness of idolatry is enough to break yourself of a bad habit.  If your heart is a little more set on your personal idol, the next step is to focus your time in a new direction.  If you just HAVE to check facebook first thing in the morning, decide to, instead, read a chapter of your Bible first thing in the morning instead.  Just that little change might be enough to break you of obsessive overuse and help you reprioritize your life.  Finally, in some cases, I don’t think we need to be ashamed to get rid of something completely when we can’t control ourselves any longer.  Idols can be very dangerous things, and if you can’t help but obsess over your fancy new car day in and day out, if it is affecting your work, your family and your life, trade that baby in for a beater and you might notice a new sense of freedom that you’ve never known before.  The truth is, God knows that when we place our trust in idols, whether material or philosophical, we will end up feeling trapped.

You may have built many idols in your home.  You may have exchanged God’s truth for being “open” to all ideas.  Today, you are being called to give your allegieance to one God-God the Father of Jesus Christ.  Repent, turn away from the things that have stolen your faith, and ask for forgiveness from the only true God who can give it.  If he was unknown to you before now, hear and believe that Jesus Christ loves you and has loved you forever.  He forgives you for sins and promises you eternal life.  Don’t let an idol or an idea steal your faith.  Repent and believe in the good news.  Amen.